Parish Ministry
Vincent would recall the early days of Parish Ministry:
"The three of us would go from village to village giving missions. When we left we would leave the key with one of our neighbours and ask him to go and sleep in the house. However, at that time I had just one sermon which I preached with a thousand variations, its subject was the fear of God." [10]
St. Vincent was always fond of the rural , more forgotten parishes (representing by one estimate 80% of the population) where the poverty of the people - both physically and spiritually - was pressing. Today that reality is largely reversed. It is the inner city communities that oftentimes suffer such hardship.
From big to small, urban to country, traditional to intentional, Vincentians serve as pastoral ministers to an equally diverse population around the world. While some parishes are located in very impoverished areas serving the direct needs of the physically poor, others respond to those same needs by calling others to participate in the mission of service and evangelization.
External Links
Parish Ministry and the Congregation of the Mission
Parish with a Powerful Missionary Vitality, with Parish Evangelization Cells. - Emeric Amyot d'Inville CM